Before anyone gets too worked up from the headline - this was just a "procedural error". It has no (direct) bearing on the outcome of the case against Dotcom or MegaUpload.
It might not have any impact on the outcome of the case but getting his stuff back must be a welcome boost to his morale. Meanwhile the procedural error underlines a feeling current amongst some kiwis that the NZ Govt were so busy doing the FBI's bidding that they made fools of themselves in the process. I've still yet to see anyone explain why it was necessary for armed police to arrive by helicopter at his house in order to explain they had an arrest warrant for him - embarrassing.
>I've still yet to see anyone explain why it was necessary for armed police to arrive by helicopter at his house in order to explain they had an arrest warrant for him
He's an international racketeer-er. We're not talking about some harmless geek who made a website for christ-sake, this is a dangerous criminal who has destroyed an entire industry by allowing people to share.
Think about what the 'S' word means for a minute. That's right, it means that if you are born into privilege and work all of your life to expand your empire, you're still equal to the untouchables! Everyone knows that some people are just more important than others and deserve a more comfortable life. Comfort is not a right, it's a privilege. Entertainment - even more so.
Now think about how our society could crumble in the space of just 45 minutes if someone were to start sharing. They have whole arrays of ICBM-mounted share-bombs. If one were to be launched, over ten million people could see a film before it's release date. I hate to bring Hitler into this conversation, but that's the closest comparison I can make. These sharers are everywhere. They're like terrorist cells - completely distributed and probably hiding somewhere under your kitchen counter, ready to pounce on you with talk of a fairer society at any moment. One minute you're cleaning a plate, the next you're a dirty Communist. The threat is ominous, dark, scary, twisted, demented and will make you wet yourself at night (water-proof bed covers for only $19.99 at BedWorld this weekend! - Ads by Google). If none of that strikes a nerve, think about the children.
Ladies and gentleman, we have a serious threat on our hands. The terror level is being raised to amber to compensate for this. Please remain in your homes and have your papers ready until an officer is able to verify your allegiance with the pepper test. Those who do not cry when sprayed are not witches. Remember that. (Be sure to catch Premier Obama's anti-sharing speech on CNN this evening! - Ads by Google.)
Seriously, law enforcement's behavior towards computer crimes is so out of proportion with the magnitude of the crime that their "bring a blowtorch to a daycare" response hurts their image.
I have no way to know if it is true but from what I read, the official reason is that when they manifested, Kim switched on his anti-intrusion system which was quite advanced. When they arrested him, he was sitting just next to a shotgun. He apparently claimed in the past that he would resist his arrest.
It is claimed in an interview[1] that there were two licensed guns on the premises, neither was used or even unlocked from storage during the raid. Obviously what we have here is a political show of force, although in this case it seems to have backfired.
Seeing the extent of US copyright colonization is always saddening, here it's put on full display and thankfully because it makes for good television this time (c.f ACTA, Copyright Amendment Act) most New Zealanders are visibly agitated.
After the police arrived, which means it can't be used as justification of bringing the helicopter on the raid. Unless they deployed it after he activated the system and there was enough time for it to arrive.
:When they arrested him, he was sitting just next to a shotgun:
Again actions they discover during the raid exclude it as a possible justification for the level of force predetermined.
It's not like they showed up with 2 friendly officers and things went bad forcing them to call in reinforcements. They brought the whole team from the get-go.
You are quite possibly right. And I don't mean to impugn NZ justice here because I have no additional information.
Nonetheless I smell a rat. It should not be necessary to shoot themselves in the foot. Such cases so rarely happen that when they do, suspicions are naturally aroused.
Just speculating: had there been (encrypted) information that Dotcom possessed which the authorities wanted, if a negotiation had ensued, wouldn't something exactly like this be a likely outcome? To me, plausible deniability, a still indeterminate outcome and Dotcom greed are indicative of a negotiation which is still underway.
